


The Right Partner

by emilyevanston



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 13:52:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15686721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emilyevanston/pseuds/emilyevanston
Summary: Bucky comes home drunk and teaches Steve to dance.





	The Right Partner

Steve lay on the ground beside Bucky’s empty bed in the nest he’d made out of couch cushions and blankets.  It was late.  Or maybe early.  Bucky still hadn’t returned from his date and Steve was yet to fall to sleep.  That was usually the way.  He slept better with Bucky there.  He knew it was stupid, but it was like his breathing was less labored and his joints hurt less.

The sounds of Bucky coming up the stairs reached him.  The unsteady gait.  The way he kept bumping into the walls.  The way he’d stumble and start giggling.  Bucky was drunk.  Steve shrunk in on himself making himself smaller than his already tiny frame.  The reaction was in part due to his father.  Coming home drunk meant a beating.  Every time.  It was a hard reaction to beat even all these years later.  He also had this back-of-the-head, niggling fear that one day Buck would bring home a dame and make Steve go sleep out on the fire escape.  That had never happened.  Logically he knew it wouldn’t happen.  That wasn’t who Bucky was.  There was just this part of him that still couldn’t believe James Barnes had ever wanted to be friends with little Stevie Rogers.  That one day he was going to turn around and say it was an elaborate prank.  Or realize who Steve was and tell him he didn’t want to be friends anymore.

Bucky stumbled through the door and slammed it a little too loudly.  As he made his way to his bed he tripped over Steve and landed face first on the moth-eaten mattress.

“Buck!  Do you mind?”  Steve whined sitting up.

“Sorry, pal.   Did I wake you?”  Bucky half slurred.

“No.  I was awake.  Still would rather not be crushed under your giant feet.”  Steve snarked.

Bucky ran his hand through his hair, kicking his shoes off.  “Well, it’s good you’re awake.  Dott and I thought we could do a double date.  Her cousin’s in town.”

“Buck…”  Steve whined.  Bucky did this a lot.  He was always trying to set him up with some dame.  Steve always went along and as soon as they saw him he could see the disappointment in their eyes.  They expected someone like Bucky and what they got was tiny, sick, skinny Steve.  The rest of the date would be spent watching both women vie for Bucky’s attention.  Steve hated it.  He hated it not just for that either.  He just wanted to catch Bucky’s eye as much as any of those women did.  He wished for just one second, Bucky would look at Steve and not see his friend but something else.  Something more.  That he’d get go feel those plump lips moving against his.  That he could be enveloped in his muscular form.

“What?  Dott says she’s real nice.  And pretty.  Even if you don’t like her, it’s just dancin’.   What’s the big deal?”

Steve searched around for some reason, any reason, why he couldn’t do this.  Anything he could say that would be a reasonable excuse for not going on another torturous date.   “I don’t even know how to dance.”

Bucky laughed doubling over and putting both his hands on Steve’s shoulders.  Steve could smell the alcohol on his breath, something that would normally bring him right back to being a small child and his dad wailing on him, this time it just made him want to lean in and capture Bucky’s lips.  “But why?  It’s just dancing?”  Bucky asked.

“I - I uh… I’ve never found the right partner.”  He stuttered.

Bucky got to his feet and pulled Steve up with him. Steve let out a whine but he let himself get pulled up.  Bucky dragged him to a clear space on the floor.  “You’re gonna have to imagine the music.”  He said, but it’s just like this.   He began to twist his feet on the floor, tapping his heels.  His knees were bent and his hips shimmied as he moved towards Steve.  He held his hand out and Steve took it and tried to copy along.  His feet kept getting tangled and when Bucky tried to spin him into him Steve tripped and fell on his ass.

“Come on, pal.  You were doing great.  Keep going.”  Bucky said, smiling broadly at Steve and pulling him back up.  “Just do one tap, like this,”  Bucky said pointing at his feet as he went through the moves again a little slower.

Steve joined in again.  This time they started slow, giving Steve the chance to focus on his moves.   Bucky started to hum, so they had a rhythm to keep up with.  Gradually they got faster and Steve didn’t even care that he kept tripping over his feet.  He didn’t care that his lungs were burning.  All there was was he and Bucky.  Moving together.  Touching each other.  He felt more alive than he had ever felt before.

Bucky stopped moving and Steve slammed into him.  They both started laughing loudly.  “You’re wheezing, pal.  How about we try something slower.”

Bucky put one hand around Steve’s waist and held his hand with the other.  Steve’s breath caught as they slowly moved together.  Bucky was humming quietly as the two of them swayed side to side and turned slowly in the tiny room.  The city was noisy, with trucks driving past and dogs barking, but all Steve could hear was Bucky’s voice and the sound of his heart beating in his ears.

Steve looked up into Bucky’s eyes.  Bucky’s tongue ran over his bottom lip and it was like it happened in slow motion.  Bucky leaned in and without even thinking Steve went onto his tiptoes and their lips met.  In reality, it was brief.  Just a quick brush of their lips over each other’s.  To them, it felt like an eternity.  That their whole lives had lead up to that moment.

When they broke apart they just stood staring at each other.  Bucky shook his head and patted Steve on the shoulder.  “Sorry, pal.  I’m drunk.”  He said letting him go and heading back to his head.

“It’s fine, Buck.  No big deal.”  Steve replied trying to not let his face show that he knew it wasn’t just because Bucky was drunk.  He knew he felt the same way.  But he also knew this was impossible, so it was better to pretend.

Bucky lay back on the bed and loosened the collar of his shirt.  Steve lay back down in his nest of pillows, his heart hammering in his chest.

“I love you, Stevie.  You know that?”  Bucky asked.

“Yeah, Buck.  I know.  I love you too.”  Steve answered while he kept his eyes on the peeling paint of the ceiling.

“Will you come out with us tomorrow?  We don’t have to go dancing.  We can find something else.”

“Yeah, Buck.  I’ll come.”

Both Bucky and Steve smiled up at the ceiling.  Maybe they couldn’t have each other now.  But who knew what the future would bring.


End file.
